Process for decorticating ramie and other bast fibers



M Aug. 15, 1944. D. E. PATTERSON v PROCESS FOR DECORTICATING RAMIE, AND'OTHER BAST FIBERS Original Fil'ed Feb. 20, 1941 3 Sheets-Shegc l R n mm ME w D. .L

Aug. 1944- D. E. PATTERSON I 2,355,999

PROCESS FOR DECORTICATING RAMIE, AND OTHER'BAST FIBERS driginal Filed Feb. 20, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 r INVENTOR A Q 02E. PATTERSON ATTORNEY Aug. 15, 194-4. PATTERSON I 2,355,999

PROCESS FOR DEQORTICATING RAMIE, AND OTHER BAST FIBERS Original Filed Feb. 20, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR DAZD EPATTERsoN M'- WM ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 15, 1944 PROCESS FOR DECORTICATING RAMIE AND OTHER BAST FIBERS David E. Patterson, Philadelphia, Pa., assignor to Bast Fiber Development Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Original application February 20, 1941, Serial No. 379,834. Divided and this application July 23,

2,355,999 I C E 1941, Serial No. 403,597

2Claims.

The object of the invention is to provide an improved process for the decortication of ramie and similar bast fibers, with references made to a.

machine adapted for carrying out said process, this application comprising a division of copendary 20, 1941.

tuting a bast fiber, possesses certain characterisment or process.

which must be decorticated after the stalks have condition and as soon as possible after being cut. This haste that is so essential in treating ramie is is cut, and especially if permitted to lie upon the hours in a hot climate, fermentation sets in with process involves the continuous cleansing of the treating machine, the broken stalks and the fibers their prime dry condition.

to provide a process which consists in first fiatat spaced intervals, to further expose the interslightly roughened, adjacent cooperating rolls a suitable conveyor belt or its equivalent.

ing application, Serial No.-379,834, filed Febru- 6 ers; Fig. 2 is a similar view of a slightly modified arrangement of said elements for carrying out Ramie, while with flax, hemp and jute constithe improved process or method with the same general results; Fig. 3 is a much'enlarged section tics which require an essentially different treatthrough a stalk of ramie upon which bark has Unlike fiax, jute and hemp, formed; Fig. 4 is an end elevation of a pair of improved breaker elements in operative cooperbeen first dried, ramiemust be so treated while ation with a section of stalk between them; yet green," that is, in its natural or live" wet Fig. 5 is a part elevation and part sectional view of one of the upper abrasion rolls; Fig. 6 is an end elevation of the same; Fig. 7 is an enlarged fragdue to the fact that almost immediately after it ta 'y e eva a V Showing e ends of a pair of cooperating abrasion rolls and their reground or elsewhere for even a relatively few Speetive mountings; is an end elevation of the same; Fig. 9 is a fragmentary and elevational the result that the fibers quickly deteriorate d view of a representative group of four such rolls soon become wholely unworthwhile reclaiming. d the od y which they are'driven at Furthermore, due to the fact that when correctly fereni; predetermined p and is treated ramie stalks still contain all of the live fragmentary end elevation of the same I sap that characterizes the growing plant, the Referring to the d wings, it should be first understood that ramie, one of the broad group of bast fibers, is initially a stalk of the general cross of such sap, gums and possible other juices that sectional make-up shown in Fig. 3. Commencing tend to gather upon them, whereas with hemp, with the outer layer and proceeding inwardly, flax and jute no such condition is encountered in there is the external bark i, which varies from a thin protective shell in the case of young stalks Another and more specific object, therefore, is to a relatively much thicker and harder layer in the case of older stalks. tening and thereby breaking the stalk longitudi- 2 of ramie fiber, Which w fi y Separated nally, to initially break the bark along parallel from the other layers and cleaned becomes the lines and partially expose the internal structure "C a gr s of Commerce, that when Prepared of the stalk, then to break the barktransversely by this new machine and corresponding process is adapted for textiles, paper making and other nal structure and also loosen the hurds to faciliuses, such as characterize flax, si rayon. Gotten tate their removal, then removal of the foliage, and the like. Next within this fiber is encounpreferably in the direction of its growth by brushtered the woody layer 3, within which is the cenmg or scraping, then removal of the broken outer trally located p y core 4 of alpha cellulosebark as hurds by abrasion between a plurality of' From this group of several layers, the ramie must pairs of adjacent roll surfaces, said surfaces being be separated, washed and degummed, and to-' wards this end the outer bark and inner wood being preferably run at different surface speeds, must be broken both longitudinally, along prefand the average speed of adjacent pairs of abraderably four or more lines, and at substantially i8 u e gradually increasing towards the equally spaced intervals transversely. The leafy discharge end of the treating machlne, after foliage is then removed by abrasion, as by the use WhlChthiE fibers pass between cleaning rolls beof brushes and preferably in the same direction fore passing towards and being discharged upon as thatof the leaves normal growth. From then on, the bark and cellulosic pith are removed With the objects thus briefly stated, the imfrom the fibers by abrasion, while during subproved process is'best understood by reference to 65 stantially all of this treatment the various rotatthe machine which has been especially assigned .able elements and the fibers passing between to carryout said process, said machine compristhem are subjected to a free fiow of fresh water. lng deta ls of construction and operation, which This constant flushing of the rolls and fiber, are hereinafter fully brought out in the following together with the aid of the brushes (stationary description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view, showing the arrangemeni and relationship of the various elements that in the improved machine enter into the combination as breakers, feed rolls, abrasion rolls and clean- Next we find the layer or movable) in contact with the surfaces of said rolls, tends to free the rolls and fiber from the I accumulation otherwise of the plant juices gums, which if not removed at once quickly dry and .1 j ke, thereby tending to defeat the eflicient operation of the process, and impairing the quality of thefinished ramie fiber. Referring to Fig. 4, a pair of breaker rolls 5 an 6 are shown as being mounted upon parallel shafts I and 8. The first of these rolls comprises preferably three longitudinally extending ridges one lower crack or longitudinal break in the bark of the stalk. Between each pair of adjacent sectors i2 is a groove l3, which cooperates in similarly spaced relation with the outer surface of one of the ridge surfaces Ill of said first roll, to likewise break the bark of the stalks between those regions that are broken by the sectors Just described. For breaking both the outer bark and inner wood transversely and at spaced intervals, th stalks in passing between said breaker rolls are abruptly bent in the angular grooves 14, where the wider grooves 13 of the second roll meet the radially directed surfaces I 5, which define both said last-mentioned grooves and the inter vening sectors 12, and similarly at the angular intersections l6 of the ridges 9 with the adjacent curved surfaces H of the first roll. To a somewhat similar though possibly slightly less degree, the bark and inner wood of said stalks are also broken as they are bent across the angular ridges l'l, formed upon the second roll at the junction of the said radial surfaces IS with the outer curved surfaces l2a. However, during this continuous series of both longitudinal and transverse breaks in both bark and wood, the ramie fibers remain intact and unmarred, although the bond between them and the undesired hurds are loosened to such an extent that the latter may be fairly readily brushed and/or abraded from the former. Also, it is to be understood that instead of three ridges and intervening grooves upon each roll, any desired number may be employed; also any desired number of pairs of breaker rolls may be used.

Referring now to Fig. 1, the stalks having passed between the interlocking pair of breakers 5 and 6, then pass between the first pair of properly spaced abrading feed rolls l8 and I9, the

surfaces of which are freed from miscellaneous litter from the broken stalks by means of scrapers 20 and brushes 2|. These rolls positively feed the stalks toward and between a pair of rotatable brushes.22 and 23, which preferably revolve in the opposition direction to the direction of movement of the intervening stalks, but at a much higher speed than the breakers, so as to brush the leaves from said stalks in the same direction as that in :which the leaves normally grow. From said brushes the stalks then pass between properly spaced pairs of abrading rolls 24 and 25, which are spaced apart specified distances, as hereinafter described, and which also rotate in the direction taken by the stalks being treated but at speeds, which differ between the rolls of each vertical pair and also between the average speeds of the rolls of consecutive pairs, while the surfaces of said rolls are milled or otherwise roughened. After leaving said abrading rolls, the remie fibers, which by now are free of most of their bark, wood and pith, are further propelled by another pair of feeder rolls 26, rotating at a still higher speed than that of any of said abrading rolls, so as to pass between a pair of cleaner elements 28 and 29, before falling upon a suitable conveyor 30, or equivalent means for transferring the resulting relatively clean fiber or China grass to the desired location for washing, degumming, rewashing, bleaching and/or such other operation as may be desired.

As hereinbefore mentioned, the abrading rolls of each pair herein described are spaced apart at predetermined distances. Referring to Figs. 7 and 8, a portion of one side of the frame of the improved machine is represented by a member 30, in which is provided a vertically extending slot 3|, spanned at the top by a suitable plate or the like 32. Within the lower portion of said slot is a bearing block 33, through which is .iournalled the axially extending shaft 34 of one-of the rolls 25, for. instance, the position of said roll being fixed due to the inability of said bearing block to descend further than the lower limit of said slot. The upper roll 24 in this instance, is rotatably supported by its shaft 35, which is journalled in an upper bearing block 36, which is upwardly slidable within a recess 31 in an auxiliary block 38, the height of said last-named block being adjustablydeterinined by a screw 39, the lower end of which is in threaded engagement with said auxiliary block, while its upper free end is provideo. with a wheel or the like 40, and its intermediate portion is in rotatable, longitudinally fixed engagement with a bushing M carried by the plate 32. Thus, the lowermost or normal position of the upper roll 24 is set at any desired distance from the lower roll 25, and in order that said upper roll may be free to yield upwardly upon encountering any unusual thickness of stalk material, a compression spring 42 is interposed between the upper bearing block 36 and the upper portion of said auxiliary block, so that the upper roll 24 is yieldinglymaintained in the desired position.

. As has been hereinbefore stated, it is desirable in treating ramie fibers to both keep the rolls clean and at the sam time wash refuse materials from the fibers, as they are separated therefrom. In order to accomplish this, each upper roll of the abrading type is preferably hollow (see Fig. 5), and is provided at angularly spaced regions with longitudinally extending .rows of discharge apertures 43, but which apertures may be arranged in accordance with any other desired pattern. The ends of each roll are closed by walls 44, through at least one of which extends the shaft 35 provided with an axial bore 45 for the purpose of conducting water (or other liquid, or gas for that matter) to the interior of said 1011, the opposite end --wall being provided with a shaft or trunnion 46 which is preferably solid.

As also hereinbefore referred to, the rolls of each vertical pair are rotated at different speeds withjrespect to each other,, while the average speed of the two rolls of. each such pair is different from that of the rolls of the next adjacent and subsequent pairs. This may be accomplished in any desired manner, but for purposes of illustration and in themachine which comprises the preferred embodiment of the invention, a pair of vertically spaced horizontal shafts 47 and 4B are provided (see Figs. 9 and 10), and

mesh with similar gears carried by the shafts 35 of the several breaker rolls, feed rolls, abrading rolls, etcetera. To illustrate, in Fig. 9 the two lower rolls 25 are provided with bevel-gears 49, which in this case are of the same size, and are in mesh with bevel-gears 50 carried by the shaft 48, so that both of the rolls 25 rotate (in the direction of their respective arrows) at the same speed, though some of the adjacent lower rolls rotate at different speeds by using gears having different ratios:

Returning to the instant example, the bevel gears carried by the upper rolls 24, while of the same size as each other, are larger than the corresponding gears 49 carried by the lower rolls 25. At the same time, bevel-gears 52 and 53, carried by the upper shaft 41 and in mesh with said upper roll gears, are themselves of different sizes, with the result that each of the upper rolls rotates at a different speed from i that of its lower roll, while said upper rolls also rotate at different speeds from each other. This speed relation is brought out more specifically by reference to Fig. 1, which shows one roll speed relationship that has been found to be very effective. as an example, both of the breakers run at 14 R. P. M.; the first set of abrading, feed rolls at the respective speeds of 8 and 36 R. P. M.;-

the pair of rotary brushes at 100 R. P. M. each;

Inthis set-up, which is cited the first set of abrasion rolls at 16 and R. P.

M., respectively; the second set of these rolls at 28 and R. P. M., respectively. and the third and last set of abrading rolls at 60 and 100, respectively; and the cleaner rolls both at 250 R. P. M.; while the conveyor is run at whatever speed may be necessary, such as F. P. M., to

carry ofi the separated fiber. appreciated that instead of the single stationary brush 2| which cooperates with each roll,

any number of such brushes can be used, while ing the ultimate condition of the separated ramie fibers. The stalks are flattened, soas to thereby break both the wood and whatever 'thickness of bark may be present, both upon the laterally opposite edges of said flattened stalk, and also substantially in the center of each flattened side.

The spaces between vertically adjacent rolls is such that the stalks-are only flattened, but not close enough to compress or tighten the bark about the fibers, as under too great a pressure the fibers are fractured by being pressed too firmly' into the inner wood por-- tion of the stalk. By transversely'breaking the bark of the stalks, the bark is still further loosened from the fiber which lies immediately therebeneath, without injuring the latter. Besides acting as breakers, the rolls thus designated may be used as cleaners, and may be of any desired numberand arrangement either at the entering end or the discharge end of the machine alone, or both at the entering and discharge ends of said machine. It should be noted at this point that consideration of the direction of rotation of the various rolls is predicated largely upon the fact, that it is preferable to feed the stalks into the machine butt first, especially as the ends of the stalks can be better aligned in that manner. Theist alks, after passing the final set of feed rolls that control the already flattened and longitudinally broken, de-

Towards washing away the undesirable waste Also, it will be they may be of whatever form and construction may be found most advantageous, even to the use of rotary brushes if preferred.

For a slightly modified arrangement of the several rolls, reference is made to Fig. 2, wherein the path taken by the.stalk initially and in time by the separated fiber is'shown by the heavy line 54. In this case the stalk first passes between a pair of flattening feed rolls ,then

between brushes 5, for removing the foliage, then between a second pair of feed rolls '1, following which it passes between a series of staggered abrading rolls 8B, which maybe con 5 sidered roughly as comprising several groups of three rolls each.' In such an arrangement, no

matter at what speed any particular abrading roll is run,the speeds of adjacent cooperating rolls are always different and preferably higher. so that the surface speed of each roll isprogressively greater than the speed at whichfirstthe stalk and in time the separated fibers pass passes between one or more pairs each such roll. Finally, in this construction as in that first described, the fiber still in association with at least somefof the refuse material of high-speed cleaning rolls 60.

Summarizing'the several steps of theprocess briefly, the leaves arefirst removed by brushing them in the direction of their growthis prefer-- encetdagainstthe direction of growth, in order to eliminate the'possibilityotherwile of iniurmaterial, sufilcient water is allowed to escape 'from the upper abrading rolls both to cleanse their own surfaces and to fiow downwardly over the surface of the respective rolls beneath them.

Throughout the foregoing specification and in the appended claims, it is to be understood that all references to ramie specifically are to be considered as including and anticipating any and all best and/or other fibers, which-can be handled eificiently by the improved machine and process herein disclosed, such as for instance Crotalaria junces.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to'protect by Letters Patent of the United States is: V

L-The process of removing ramie fiber from its stalk, which consists in breaking both'the outer barkand the inner woody layer of alternatelengthwise sections of astalk longitudinally andbreaking similar portions of intervening sectionts transversely, repeating theoperation throughout the length of the stalk, and then separating-the fiber from the bark and wood by means of abrasion.

2. The process of removing ramie fiber from its stalk, which consists in breaking both the outer bark and the inner woody layer of alternate lengthwise sections of a stalk longitudinally and breaking similar portions of intervening sections transversely, repeating the operation throughout the length of the stalk, removing the fiber from the bark and wood by means of abrasion.

' DAVID E. PATTERSON. 

